German fisherman catches world-record 515-pound Atlantic halibut

Marco Liebenow thought he hooked a submarine while fishing Norwegian waters; fish was so big it wouldn’t fit into the 19-foot boat

A fisherman from Germany caught the fish of a lifetime, a world-record Atlantic halibut that was so big it wouldn’t fit into the boat.

Marco Liebenow was fishing with three friends in a 19-foot boat in Norwegian waters when he hooked what he thought was “a submarine,” according to a Friday report in the U.K. Daily Mail.

By halibut fishing standards, it was a submarine. The Atlantic halibut weighed 515 pounds, smashing the existing IGFA world record of 419 pounds caught in Norwegian waters in July 2004.

After a 90-minute battle, Liebenow managed to reel the fish to the surface. But once the fishermen saw how big it was, they realized the fish was too big to haul into the small boat. So they tied a rope around its tail.

“The flounder could be towed only with the greatest effort and with great sensitivity to the port,” fishing tour company Angelreisen Hamburg explained (via translation) on its Facebook page.

At the dock, the fish was hoisted out of the water by crane and weighed. After photos, Liebenow donated the fish to a local fish dealer, and then celebrated his catch with a few beers.

“[Marco] does not speak any English but has said it was a wonderful feeling to catch it and has called it a fish of a lifetime,” David Bottcher, Angelreisen Hamburg fishing tours spokesman who arranged the trip, told the Daily Mail. “Before he left for the trip, he called us first to ask for a few hints about how and where to fish—I guess our advice paid off.”

It did, in a big way.

The 9-foot fish, caught in waters off Kjollefjord last month, is awaiting IGFA world-record approval.